punched up; punching up; punches up
: to give energy or forcefulness to
jokes added to punch up a speech
Examples of punch-up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Nina Turner, Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2024
Writers didn’t want to do punch-ups on potentially crummy AI scripts or have their words (or ideas) cannibalized by large language models that didn’t pay them a dime.
—Marah Eakin, WIRED, 17 Oct. 2024
Tiffany Vickers Davis, Southern Living, 26 Oct. 2024
But devoted fans of Jansson, the Finnish author better known for her Moomins books for children, will be delighted that her delicately personal work hasn’t been punched up.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 17 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for punch-up 
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Noun
Airline crew could not run the risk of a full-scale punch-up at 30,000ft.
—Nina Turner, Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2024
Writers didn’t want to do punch-ups on potentially crummy AI scripts or have their words (or ideas) cannibalized by large language models that didn’t pay them a dime.
—Marah Eakin, WIRED, 17 Oct. 2024
Verb
Black pepper has a characteristically piney heat that punches up the flavor of the velvety dense beans.
—Tiffany Vickers Davis, Southern Living, 26 Oct. 2024
But devoted fans of Jansson, the Finnish author better known for her Moomins books for children, will be delighted that her delicately personal work hasn’t been punched up.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 17 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for punch-up
Dictionary Entries Near punch-up
Cite this Entry
“Punch-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/punch-up. Accessed 2 Dec. 2024.
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